12.3 The devil and his angels
Digression 12.3 - THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS
“Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Mtt.25: 41)
When he died on the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ triumphed over ‘heavenly powers’ as well as over ‘earthly powers.’
The accusation, that man aspires to equality with God (Michael – who is like God?) was thrown out of the heavenly court because it was nullified by the death of Christ. This is however, not the end of the matter for the desire for equality still lives on in our nature and is expressed by human empires.
This explains why Satan and the Devil represent both the accuser – God’s Holy Angel (see note on Heb.2:14 and Col.2:14-15) and also those world empires (or people – see 2 Cor 11: 14) that embody the principles of those accusations. When the dragon (that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan) is bound for a thousand years and cast into the abyss (Rev 20: 2) it is not the angel that is bound, but the ambition to be ‘like God’ that is suppressed.
This has already been described in the previous chapter with the destruction of the beast (19: 20,21).
The empire of the beast destroyed. (Rev.19)
The principle suppressed. (Rev.20)
The beast
Dragon
False prophet
Old serpent, the devil
Deceived them
Devil, deceive the nations
Cast alive into a lake of fire
Bound in the abyss
It is notable, that although it is God that binds and looses this principle, when it re-emerges from the abyss, it is again in the form of a man made empire (Gog and Magog) that challenges the saints (20:7).
The Lord Jesus Christ describes the judgment in three different parables recorded in Matthew chapter twenty-five. In the separating of the sheep and the goats (Mtt.25:31-46) he refers to “the devil and his angels” who are reserved for “everlasting fire” (v.41). This is obviously a reference to “the dragon and his angels” (Rev.12:7) whose ultimate fate is the lake of fire:
“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are..” (Rev.20:10)
The “devil” in this passage is a particular human that personifies the ambition of equality with God, and tempts the nations to challenge divine authority. In the first century the “devil” was the “divine emperor Nero” who sought to throw Christians to the lions (1 Pet.5:8). In Revelation chapter thirteen the beast is also personified by a particular man (it is the number of a man 13:18). When the apostle Paul refers to the “man of sin” it is apparent that he has a particular opponent in mind (2 Thess.2:3) who was restrained in the first century (v.6) by the destruction of Judaism. The antagonist is again restrained when the beast and his allies are destroyed, only to be unleashed at the end of the thousand years.
In Matthew chapter 25 Jesus separates the sheep and the goats. These are Jews from every nation1 the criteria that is used is the treatment meted out to the witnesses.2 Those who have mistreated his witnesses are condemned to the same fate as the “devil and his angels.” That fate is eternal (everlasting) punishment.3 The same fate awaits the false prophet(s):
“Have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
For the context see Mtt.7:15-29. This is the escatalogical false prophet of Revelation 13:11-14 who, “doeth great wonders so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.”
1 “and before him shall gather all nations; and he shall separate them one from another.” (Mtt.25:32) The word ‘nations’ are neuter and therefore are regarded collectively, whereas the word ‘them’ refers to individuals, because it is masculine. The ellipsis that should be supplied in this passage is, “men from all nations.” (see John 12:32 where a similar ellipsis occurs – the word men is not in the original, it is italicised in the A.V. the ellipsis that should be supplied is; all men [without distinction i.e. both Jew and Gentile]) The parable of the sheep and the goats is from Ezek.34:17,20 which has a clear Jewish context. Jesus is addressing the parable to a Jewish audience – it is therefore natural to understand the men from all nations as Jews, in the sense of Acts 2: 5 – “And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.” For a full discussion on the objections to regarding the judgment as a separation between “nation states” see Studies in the Gospels by H.A.W. pg. 623, 624.
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2 In Matthew chapter ten, Jesus sends his disciples on a spirit gifted witnessing mission. He warns that they will be persecuted and even murdered for their witnessing (v.28) We have already observed that the witnessing of the disciples is a type of the final witnessing mission described in Revelation chapter eleven. Jesus says the following to his disciples:
“He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no way loose his reward.” (Mtt.10:40-42)
The Lords criteria for judging his own countrymen is how they have treated his witnesses. Those who have murdered them (Rev.11: 7) will be condemned to eternal punishment.
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3 Eternal judgment (Heb.6:2) and eternal redemption (Heb.9: 12) alongside eternal punishment (Mtt.25: 46) and eternal torment (Rev.20:10) do not mean that they are tormented eternally, but that the consequences are eternal. The wicked only suffer torment at Judgment day. (Mtt.8:12; 13:40-42, 49-50. Lk.12: 47,48)
